The following post is from Charles Weiss, DVM, and appears here at his
request.
 
All the best -
Beth + Miska + Pads + Gabby (who just today had surgery using the surgery
he mentions below) + Smudge
 
Breakthrough in Ferret Surgery
 
Adrenal disease is the most common illness that I see in clinical practice.
It affects up to 70% of ferrets.  I have seen adrenal disease in American,
European, neutered and unneutered ferrets.  It is a result of adrenal
tumors and hyperplasia, which result in an excess of estrogen and
testosterone.
 
The result is a chronic, debilitating disease, with typical symptoms which
can include hair loss (i.e., base of tail, over shoulder blades, tops of
rear feet), return-to- male sexual behavior or sudden onset of aggression,
swollen vulva and males straining to urinate - which can result in a life
threatening blockage.
 
The treatment of choice is surgical removal of one or both of the affected
adrenal glands, which reverses the symptoms mentioned above.
 
Adrenal disease is a very important topic in my eyes for two reasons.  One,
it is the most common disease which afflicts ferrets today.  The second
reason is that I answer nationwide calls on a daily basis about the disease
itself, and about surgical and medical treatment options.  Although we now
have medication that is very effective in reversing symptoms of the
disease, medical treatment does not reverse the tumors themselves, and
they are malignant up to 25% of the time.
 
The reason I receive so many calls about this condition is because
adrenalectomy is technically a very difficult surgery even for the more
experienced ferret surgeon.  A large number of veterinarians will not
attempt adrenal surgery, particularly when the right adrenal gland is
involved, because the right adrenal gland normally is attached to the vena
cava (the largest vein in the body).  Also, it is common for the adrenal
tumor to grow under the vena cava, and under one of the lobes of the liver.
As a result, right adrenal tumors are difficult to completely remove and
can be associated with significant postoperative bleeding.
 
However, there is another type of surgery.  Cryosurgery is the freezing of
tissue with liquid nitrogen to kill cells.  Cryosurgery has been used in
human medicine for decades for the removal of skin tumors, and has been
used more recently to destroy many other tumors, including those of the
liver, breast, prostate and adrenal.
 
I have used cryosurgery to treat over 40 ferrets, with excellent results.
Since I have performed hundreds of traditional adrenalectomies, the
tremendous advantages of cryosurgery became apparent very quickly,
particularly when the right adrenal gland is involved.  This new technique
offers the ferret surgeon many potential advantages over traditional
adrenalectomy, and I'm convinced it will someday be the technique of
choice to treat adrenal tumors.  Studies are currently underway to
compare adrenal cryosurgery and traditional adrenalectomy in the ferret
with adrenal disease.
 
Some of the many potential benefits of cryosurgery (see table below)
include decreased bleeding, less intraoperative time, a quicker recovery
and a technically easier procedure.  Large vessels have been shown to be
very resistant to the effects of freezing.  In other words, the blood in
the vena cava and the vena cava itself are not affected.
 
POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF ADRENAL CRYOSURGERY
 
1.  Significantly less bleeding postoperatively
2.  Quicker recovery time
3.  More likely to completely destroy right adrenal tumors
4.  Shorter operative time
5.  Technically easier procedure for surgeon
 
For more information on cryosurgery you or your veterinarian can contact me
at Potomac Animal Hospital, Potomac, Maryland, at (301) 299-4142.  Please
bear with me and understand that due to the large number of phone calls I
receive, I may have to call you back collect.
 
Meanwhile, as a result of the large number of phone calls from
veterinarians asking for advice on performing some of the most common
surgeries and from veterinarians willing to fly to our hospital to watch
ferret surgery, I've decided that the best way I could help the largest
number of veterinarians and ferret knowledgable owners is to make a video
of actual ferret surgeries.  So I hired a film crew to come in and
produce a professional video of common ferret surgeries.  The video is a
step-by-step, very detailed account of each disease, the pre- and post-op
care, and the actual surgeries.  It will be available as a VHS videotape or
video on CD (not DVD).
 
My aim is to provide a sound training resource and source of information
for the veterinarian interested in ferret medicine and surgery as well as
for the well educated ferret owner.  The video includes a step-by-step
account of a complete exploratory, right and left adrenal tumor removal,
right and left adrenal cryosurgery, partial pancreatectomy for insulinoma,
gastric hairball and splenic tumor.
 
Order forms should be ready by November 1, and the video in mid-November.
You can request an order form via:
 
Fax:   301-349-3997
Mail:  Ferret Video Productions
       P.O. Box 59510
       Potomac, MD 20859
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Website:  http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc
 
I hope this helps many ferrets.
[Posted in FML issue 2839]